5-Step Guide to an Easy Fast Fashion Cleanse
We know sustainability in fashion is so important, and the first step to be more conscious in this area of your life is to slow down. It doesn’t come as a surprise, then, that the opposite of sustainable fashion and slow fashion is none other than fast fashion. Fast fashion’s model relies on rapidly producing clothes in a massive way and selling it at low prices. To achieve this, costs are kept as low as possible, which is done by using cheap materials, paying miserable wages to their workers, and creating and relying on trends to justify that rapidity in which they produce.
The problems that this type of model bring are difficult to ignore. With clothing production doubling since 2000, fashion companies went from offering two collections per year to five in 2011, while fast-fashion-leaders like Zara and H&M have even gone as far as producing 24 and 16 annual collections respectively. These brands are trying to sell us as much as 12 times more clothes per year than 20 years ago, which means a more significant impact on the environment and an increase in resources. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions, which is more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. It is the second largest consumer of water worldwide and second-largest water polluter from their dyeing processes. This increase also means that more clothes are going to the landfill: an estimated 85% of textiles are thrown into the landfills each year, because these brands don’t sell everything they produce (not even the most compulsive of consumers can keep up with such production paces).
Why is fast fashion so popular then? Firstly, some consumers aren’t aware of the impact of their fashion choices, so spreading this information is crucial for them to choose better. Nonetheless, even if they do know, some people may be attracted to this model because of its affordability and because it enables them to be ‘trendy’, or they may have trouble getting rid of habits that have been part of them for so long. For the first group, the one that supports this model because of affordability, I suggest either buying only a few items that are needed, or shop second-hand, which is way cheaper than fast fashion and usually super accessible. To the first and second group, I suggest starting with this guide that will help you have a fast fashion cleanse, a great start to your sustainability journey!
HOW TO STOP CONSUMING FAST FASHION GRADUALLY
Understand why not supporting the fast fashion industry is so crucial
Let’s begin from the start. The most important thing you must do to stop being tempted into fast fashion is understanding how bad it is for the environment and the workers. Even if we don’t experience it firsthand and can therefore be easily sucked into an ‘incredible sale’ or a ‘must-have trend’, the numbers speak for themselves. Doing research is the best way to empathize with the reality of this industry. Watch a documentary on the fashion industry, search for photos that show what the working conditions are in factories or how clothes end up in the landfill, and find out why sustainable fashion is so important. We can only care about that which we know, so drench your brain with information, and then I can promise you will cringe every time you see a $5 t-shirt from Forever 21.
Audit your wardrobe
Go to your closet, analyze your clothes, and see what percentage of those you really use. If it is a low number, you know you’re probably being hypnotized by fast fashion’s invented urgency. An estimated 40% of clothes in our wardrobes are never worn, a statistic that will make you rethink your purchasing habits. And that’s not the only shocking fact: the number of times a garment is worn has declined by 36% in 15 years, and that is because fast fashion makes you want to buy clothes faster than you can wear them. Their whole marketing concept relies on convincing you that clothes are disposable assets. Fast fashion also makes you want to buy clothes because they are trendy and popular, but that doesn’t mean they suit you, they combine with the rest of your clothes, or that you will wear them once the trend is buried deep in fashion’s history.
In this step, we go from getting informed about the external issues that you don’t see directly, to your own experience. In other words, you make the matter more tangible and closer to home; you turn those numbers and statistics into something you can see for yourself. It is also a way of knowing what garments you end up using, and which you buy out of mere impulse. Next time you are about to buy something, you will think twice about how real your need is, and how much of it has been planted in your head by fast fashion. Eventually, you will end up investing in timeless pieces that make your personality stand out, instead of following trends. Little by little, your focus will be on building a sustainable wardrobe that you will be happy to wear and to make it last.
Unsubscribe from fast fashion brands' newsletters
Not getting tempted is a must on this list. Fast fashion brands create needs for us that didn’t exist before. They show you something and convince you that your life won’t be full without it. That feeling of adrenaline soon perishes once we have the garment in our hands, or once we have worn it once or twice. That’s why clothes bought from fast fashion brands are usually worn only a few times.
One way in which we get easily tempted is with offers and discounts. I have been a victim of this, and I know how difficult it is sometimes to understand a discount is just a bait. Therefore, I recommend taking this significant step to cleanse your life from fast fashion’s dirty claws: unsubscribe from fast fashion brands’ newsletters.
Trust me, your life will go about just fine without saving a 20% in a fluffy bright green coat. Also, always remember that if you don’t buy something, you are saving 100%.
Put your purchases into numbers
In the fast fashion industry, numbers are everything. Not only how many clothes are thrown away or how much a worker is paid, but how much it costs you to succumb to these impulses. It is easy to fall into fast fashion’s traps: you will see a $19.99 tag and you will think it’s a great deal. Even with that tag they are fooling you. A $19.99 tag is really a $20 tag (let’s be real). But it’s not just that. Have you heard the expression “what’s cheap is expensive” (in Argentina we say ‘lo barato sale caro’)? Someone must pay that price. That’s the workers, that’s the quality of the garment, that’s the environment, and it’s not worth it stealing from all three of them for us to have a t-shirt in our closet, which we don’t need (99% chances you don’t).
Even so, if you buy a $19.99 garment, and then another one, and another one, and you think you’re getting a great deal, just write down all your purchases in your cellphone or your computer and follow up on your expenses. Analyze how much money you spend on clothes every year; you may be surprised about how quickly it adds up. Those numbers will probably improve if you decide to buy one item of higher quality and from a sustainable brand, with what you would have bought 10 of less quality. What changes is the more expensive garment will last longer, and you will do good by the workers and the environment. If you buy clothes from fast fashion brands because you can’t afford more expensive ones, that’s okay. Just start by not buying excessively and often. Another thing you can do is buy the same number of garments with less money, and this can be done by buying secondhand clothes. Supporting a circular economy by buying clothes that are already ‘in the system’ and ‘circulating’, is a great way of boycotting fast fashion and being more sustainable. But remember, the most sustainable clothes are the ones you already have. Most of the times you don’t even need to buy the secondhand pieces!
Unfollow on social media
In the same line and for the same reason as unsubscribing from newsletters to not get seduced by offers and discounts, the last step to start removing fast fashion from your life, is to unfollow them on social media. This way you avoid seeing their latest collections and their sales, but it’s also a statement: you take away your support from a company that’s not worthy of it.
If there is a specific influencer who frequently convinces you–directly or indirectly–of buying something, unfollow them too. Follow instead people who ‘influence you’ positively and sustainable brands and show them your support. The main idea is to surround yourself (especially your social media and digital life) with accounts that make you want to slow down a bit, instead of making you feel like fashion is a marathon that must be won and conquered.
Remember: no, you don’t “need” it.
Besides, you will never be up to date with fast fashion. Today, you buy that sweater that will make you trendy, but tomorrow you will be just as ‘outdated’ as yesterday. The same scenario applies to other things, like technology coming up with a new cellphone every year to make you feel antiquated. Just step away from that game and spend your money in experiences, investments, savings, or sustainable/small brands.
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Hi, I’m Melina,
I’m the creator of Sustainable Rookie, and my goal is to share what I learn throughout my sustainability journey, so that I can help other people live a more conscious life.
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